Safe rates summit in Canberra

ISSUES surrounding safe road transport are set to be
thrashed out in a summit at Parliament House, Canberra on Wednesday (13
February).

Organised by the Transport Workers Union, the summit aims to
gather all parties involved in road transport to discuss laws for regulation to
ensure both safety and fairness.

According to the TWU, the conference is to include truck
drivers, families of truck crash victims, rideshare drivers, food delivery
riders, academics, transport companies and associations, trade unions, major
retailers and politicians.

“Trucks are disproportionately involved in crash casualties
on the roads, with 16% of road crash fatalities involving trucks,” the TWU
stated.

“Many of the risks stem from the financial pressure drivers
and transport companies are placed under by the companies at the top which
contract their services,” it stated.

“This pressure forces drivers to work long hours, speed and
skip their mandatory rest breaks. A Macquarie University survey shows one in 10
drivers works over 80 hours a week.”

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The summit is to also look at conditions for rideshare
drivers and food delivery riders.

They keynote speech is to be delivered by ACFS owner Arthur
Tzaneros of ACFS

Other major speakers include Senator Glenn Sterle, Peter
Anderson (Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation ARTIO), Scott
Connolly of the ACTU and Michael Kaine of the TWU.